A Taste of Reality
by becomeafan
Summary: Just when she thought the whole situation seemed cliché, it wasn't. In the end, the school's queen bee gets to keep prince charming, and she's still on the sidelines.


Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

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"Congratulations on your new baby boy!"

The whole living room was packed with people; high school friends, soccer teammates, and cheering squad members, office colleagues, best friends, college friends, cousins, and even old time 'frenemies' (friends/enemies). The long mahogany countertop by the refrigerator was filled with a variety of alcoholic drinks and bite-sized food. Soft music wafted through the air the came from the ceiling-to-floor open glass windows. There were at least fifty people there, including myself. Their penthouse sure is huge. Well, not a surprise really. Being one of the highest paid athletes can give you that. No doubt that Toushiro Hitsugaya is one of the best forwards out there in the soccer field. Playing football has always been his forte. _He was the star player in high school…_

"Hey, you have to taste one of these," a roll of raw fish suddenly filled my line of vision, "one of the best tasting sashimi I've had in years!"

I glanced up to see my grinning twin sister shove one into my mouth. I almost gagged. I instantly bolted to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of coke to push the damn fish down. Trust Yuzu to almost kill me with a piece of sashimi. I looked back at the scene in the living room, noting down the differences and similarities of the people I've known ten years ago. Easily spotting a blob of orange, Ichigo, my older brother, had an arm curled up around his tiny wife's waist. _The possessive idiot._ Now that I think about it, I've always wondered how in Urahara's name did those two ended up together in the first place.

Rukia Kuchiki is known throughout Karakura High as the the ultimate bad-ass chick. Her temper is as short as her, no kidding. No man is stupid enough to insult her right in her face, or even in secret. She doesn't give shit, or take shit from anybody. Plus, she's worth over a hundred million yen. At least that what everyone in school thinks and says. Rukia came from the prominent and powerful clan of the Kuchiki's. Her older brother, Byakuya Kuchiki, is the current CEO of the Kuchiki enterprise that specializes in making imported and remarkable quality cars throughout the world. Their family also owns a chain of five star hotels across East Asia, Europe, and the United States. He was even featured in Time Magazine as one of the richest and successful businessman in the world! Never, in my whole 25 years of existence, did I ever think that I would be related to one of the most influential people in the world. Well, sort of related. Rukia's my sister-in-law, so therefore, that makes Byakuya _my brother-in-law._ The thought still brings a huge smile on my face. Feel free to sue me for being happy about that fact.

My eyes raked to another happy couple next them, Uryu and Orihime Ishida. Now _this _is a very odd pair indeed. Back in high school, Inoue was deeply and helplessly in love with my idiotic brother. The problem was, it remained unrequited. Why? Ichigo pledged his whole for two things; one, getting into the National's Soccer Tournament and winning the championships, and two, Rukia Kuchiki. Those two would bicker like cat and dog, yapping about nonsense, nonstop. There was even one incident, or maybe more, that Rukia got so fed up with Ichigo she slapped him right across the face. It was so hard that the slap echoed in the hallway. I guess that was the time that Ichigo realized how much Rukia meant to him, because after that whole drama, she took a two week vacation with her brother in Paris, France. My brother was devasted. He wouldn't admit at first of course, he was crankier than usual, and more idiotic that usual. There were times wherein I would catch him lightly touch his left cheek where he was brutally offended, then slightly tap it, whispering: _Damn, midget._

After two painful weeks of separation and relieving silence for all of us, said midget came back feeling refreshed and happy. All too soon a dark cloud appeared, well, a bright orange one in this case. They both stood awkwardly in front of each other, unsure of where to begin. An apology would do but, who should start? All of a sudden, to our astonishment and surprise, Rukia had her arms and legs around Ichigo, kissing him fervently in front of the whole student body that were present that and happened to be walking on that hallway. Ichigo was as stunned as everyone but, recovered all too soon and kissed her back just as fiercely. They've been together ever since. I guess it's true when they say that 'the more you hate, the more you love'.

News spread like wildfire in high school; and the only thing that can dose off that fire is water in the form of another gossip. Orihime rarely showed any type of sadness, with the reason that it would only burden the people she cares for. Everyone likes Orihime; she's caring, reliable, understanding, funny, and sweet. Her D-cup breasts add to the list for the boys. I've known her since childhood. She lives alone in an apartment across the street. Her parents are divorced and are living in two different continents with their new families. Her only remaining relative, her older brother, died in a car crash two months after her middle school graduation. My father took sympathy on her, offering her some sleepovers with us, dinner, family days, and the likes so that she wouldn't feel so lonely. Ichigo is the one closest to her, probably cause of their age. Both of them are 27 now. In our many sleepovers, after teasing her mercilessly once again on her huge crush on my brother, Inoue confessed to us that Ichigo served as her inspiration to continue moving forward. Her life never took an easy turn after her parents signed the divorce papers. Meeting Ichigo gave her a sense of belonging and hope. She told us that he always watched over her, fought away the nasty girls in school, and even offered her a piggy-back ride when she sprained her ankle in gym class. _'I never felt so important and loved in my life,' _were exact words. So, it really amazed me when she just offered me one of her bright smiles, and said: _'You will never be truly happy unless you see and know that the person you love the most is. He's content. More than content even. There's nothing more I can wish for.'_

Those words stuck to me like permanent glue. _As long as he's happy huh?_

"Alright, everyone! Time for the mother-to-be to open her presents!" Rangiku Matsumoto excitedly bounced over the black leather sofa, smoothening out the clutters of paper on it. She and Gin helped each other out put the boxes of wrapped gifts onto the large glass coffee table. Youroichi pushed a blue baby stroller with a big red bow on one of the handles beside the other presents. A small dark green baby seat, the one you place babies in when they're in the car so they won't fall off, sat by the foot of the coffee table. It also sported a big red bow on top of it.

I walked to the living room and sat on of the bar high chairs, and made myself comfortable. My heart clenched. Toushiro tightly held his wife's hand as he guided her to the leather sofa, gently setting her down. As I see her sigh in relief, I look back at the time when I thought that I would be the one in her place. The one who'd Toushiro be married to. The one who'd have the baby shower for kid number two. The one who'd be by his side at every game, every morning, and every day.

It was summer before the beginning of junior year in high school. Yuzu and I are freshmen students in Karakura High. I was excited to be in high school. There were a lot of things that I wanted to do and try. I wanted to try of for the women's soccer team, be part of the debate club, beat my brother in football in front of his friends and classmates, and to be on top my class. I was very ambitious back then. All I thought was high school is going the best four years of my life; and I will not waste a single day of it.

Making friends in a new school wasn't too difficult either. My brother and sister were there with me. Orihime was also there, along with Chad, one of Ichigo's long time friends. The freshmen orientation was promising enough. Aside from the outlining us with the rules and regulations of the school, and the welcome we had from the seniors, the campus tour was the highlight of it all. As we stopped by the football field, I also felt my heart stop. I've never had a crush before. Boys never really interested me unlike my sister Yuzu, who claimed to be heartbroken every time Valentine's Day comes because her crush already accepted someone else's chocolate. So, I've never really looked at a guy so captivatingly before, until that day. The boys' soccer team was preparing for their afternoon try-outs for freshmen. Their preparation actually just consisted of them playing around the football field, joking around, and laughing at each other. I saw my brother amongst them, kicking a soccer ball and playing pass with the most gorgeous guy I've ever seen in my life. His spiky white hair looked so pristine under the scorching heat of the sun. He was a bit tan, well-built, and just about an inch or two shorter than Ichigo. What mesmerized me the most about the guy was his bright teal eyes that seemed to sparkle every time the soccer ball would kiss his spikes. Occasionally, he would do some football tricks, and Ichigo would try to outdo him. Our tour guide quickly ushered us back into the building, cutting my daydreams on my first teenage crush. Right after the closing of the principle, I darted out of the building, and headed straight to the football field.

The whole place was already divided into two. The cheerleading squad, who weren't there when we toured, held their try-outs in the field. There were blue and pink gym mats covering a portion of the field they were acquiring. The cheerleading squad was on the left side of the field, with the soccer team on the right. My feet dashed towards the bleachers on the side where the guys were holding their try-outs when I noticed that I was not the only one who wanted to see certain players in action. There were about twenty girls or more seated quite comfortably on the second and third level of the bleachers where the soccer team had their duffel bags placed. Not wanting to be seen as part of the group of squealing girls, I sat on the other side across the field. Seating there did not only give me a clearer view of his face (since he was seating on the level just a step lower than mine) but, I also had a good sight on the cheerleading try-outs happening on the other side of the field. I wasn't really paying attention to what was happening in front of me. All that mattered was that I could stare at the white haired angel that graced my world. A bit creepy but, hey, first crush! Don't blame me!

I was even grateful at my brother for shouting out his name. He said that they needed some assistance on assessing the new players that might become useful for the team.

_Toushiro Hitsugaya_.

Wow. If I thought that he was good-looking, then he looked even more handsome, absolutely attractive, playing soccer. He was good. He was really good. The goalie never stood a chance against his speed. The defenders couldn't even seem to comprehend what just happened. His footwork is so remarkable that it looks like he was just effortlessly kicking and maneuvering the ball. Or maybe he was. After teaching the newbies some technique and giving them a thumbs-up for getting into the team, he laid down in the middle of the field with his arms and legs sprawled out. Ichigo, Chad, some guy with red hair, and another guy blond hair followed suit but, only sat down next to him. I stared at them, watching them enjoy the cool breeze brought about the setting sun. The cheerleading try-outs was just about done. My sister, Yuzu, just arrived, five minutes after I called her saying that I was in the open field watching Ichigo be all bossy and mean to the first year students. The other girls that were seated on the other side already left. I told Yuzu how pathetic it was, hearing them giggle about how hot and handsome the soccer players were. She teased me back saying that it was the same for me, only I never giggle over a guy. Just watch silently from afar. I only smiled at her. She began asking me who among the guys surrounding Ichigo I was having a crush on. As I pointed out the one wearing jersey number 10, I felt my body froze. Toushiro stood up, already sporting a goofy smile on his face as his arms welcomed a girl wearing a cheerleading uniform run up to him. Her long brown pony-tailed hair swished as he twirled her around in the middle of the field. Her slim legs were tightly wrapped around his waist and her dainty arms were looped around his neck. They were making out in the field, and I felt sick.

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Please leave a review. Is it good? Should I continue this nonsense?


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